Hello, Jackson County 4-H Families!

Happy Spring Break to those who have one!

After a wonderful Animal Affair where kids learned about all sorts of projects and as the last few STEP classes and tagging/declaration days happen, we turn our sights (literally, in the case of our shooting sports members) towards fair!

Registration will open in the next couple of weeks for Spring Fair and the Shooting Sports Fair, so keep an eye out. The early bird rate for 4-Hers at camp is open until April 15--remember, you'll need a code. Finally, we're still looking for adult volunteers for camp and adult and youth volunteers to help set up, host, lead activities in, and tear down the static exhibit hall at fair this year! Are you a parent of kids who do static projects? Come join the fun!

Cheers,

Lena and Steven

A huge "Thank You" to the Animal Affair Committee: Chrissy Reynolds, Amy Grow, Cari Brotherton, Donna D'Inzillo, Sami Wyatt, and Becky McNamee!

• Application for National 4-H Youth in Action Due: Mon, Mar 27

• Ambassadors Meeting: Mon, Mar 27 at 7PM, Extension Classroom

• Lena Out of Office: Wed, Mar 29-Fri, Mar 31

• STEP Class: Fruit Jerky: Fri, Mar 31 at 6:30PM, Ages 9-19, Register by Mar 30 @ 5PM.

• Deadline for Beekeeping Essay to trisha.applebee@oregonstate.edu: Sat, Apr 1

• Hop to it Gems Easter Egg Hunt: Sun, Apr 2, 11am-4pm at Donahue-Frohnmayer Park

• Lena at a Conference: Mon, Apr 3-Thurs. Apr 6
• Livestock Antibiotics ZOOM Session: Tues, Apr 4, 6:30PM-8PM, Register Here
• 4-H Association Meeting: Wed, April 5, 6PM, SOREC Library
• Robotics SPIN Club: Wed, Apr 5, 6PM, SOREC Auditorium
• Interstate Exchange: Wed, Apr 5, 6PM, SOREC Classroom
• Pear Blossom Parade: Sat, Apr 8, 11AM - Join the Float!

This is a friendly reminder to cash your premium checks from Fair 2022.

There are still 30 of them uncashed and we need all of them to be cashed. Thanks!

"Forms" Page: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/4h/jackson/forms

Speaking of forms, remember, we have a Youth Code of Conduct that every youth in 4-H needs to adhere to. See the attached document at the end of the newsletter!

Links to all project record forms can be found at: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/4h/record-books

Jackson County's unique Animal Science record is at that link. We do not use the state project record in Jackson County for Animal Science.

All other project records can be found at the state website: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/4h/record-books

We also highly encourage you to complete the 4-H Resume (found at the state website). Not only will this make entering the record book contest easier, but this is also this a useful tool to track all of your hard work each year and be prepared to easily fill out job and college applications in the future!

Our Oregon legislators will hear the Statewide budget bill on April 21. Between now and April 21, the most important thing you can do for Extension is share your stories, testimony, and opinions with your legislators!

• This Letter portal makes it easy for community members to quickly personalize and send a letter to their state legislators to share personal impact and urge funding support.
• This Find your legislator tool is great if you prefer to contact legislators directly.

For those unaware, beginning on June 11 of this year, over-the-counter (OTC) antibiotics for livestock will no longer be available through traditional retail channels. Instead, these antibiotics will require a prescription from a veterinarian licensed in the state where the animals are housed.

Are you giving antibiotics to club member’s animals or other people’s animals without a veterinary license? Your actions may be jeopardizing 4-H relationships with the veterinary profession across the state.

Members are having medications administered and they don’t know what drugs are they are giving; if the medication doesn’t work, then they call the veterinarian who will struggle to help because they don’t know what’s already been done.

Candi Bothum will be facilitating an online session with OSU Veterinarian Dr. Charles Estill on this subject. Please register for this 6:30PM-8PM April 4 class ASAP at https://oregonstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eo3rlW912NYh0FM

• https://beav.es/SY7
• Over the counter sale of livestock antibiotics ends soon
• https://extension.oregonstate.edu/animals-livestock/beef/over-counter-sale-livestock-antibiotics-will-cease-june-11-2023-how-you-can.

Lena: 541-930-8407

Reach out to Lena for questions about youth program development, curriculum support, risk management, insurance & accident reports, legal & liability, diversity, equity, & inclusion, starting new programs and clubs, partnerships, judges & superintendents, and approval of name & emblem usage.

Steven: 541-930-8412

Reach out to Steven for questions about the newsletter or website, volunteer enrollment, new volunteer onboarding, curriculum support, new member club placement, fair registration and support, state fair information, events and workshops, and general 4-H inquiries.

For anything else (enrollment, fees, 4-H Online issues, etc.), you can always call the Extension Office at 541-776-7371 and speak with Cristy!

This year, Cari Brotherton’s club Mighty Fine Swine is again putting together a 4-H float for the Pear Blossom parade. She is inviting all Jackson County 4-H Clubs to join them. Her club Mighty Fine Swine is looking for people to help decorate the wagon, more animals to ride in the wagon and near it, walkers to hand out candy and wave. The theme for this year’s parade is “ComPearing Past and Future” they are planning to have their tractor and wagon as the old and a new tractor as the new playing on the theme.

Please let Cari know if your club, family if you will be able to participate. The parade is scheduled for Saturday April 8th the parade lineup starts early- participants must be there prior to 10 am. Parade starts at 11. Please wear your club shirts or 4-H attire. Please bring your banners for your club to carry. All Jackson County club members can join in the fun- you do not need your whole club.

Cari’s contact information:541-621-0955 and ctbro5@msn.com

Suggested: Good walking shoes, bring water, a small snack rain jacket and sunscreen.

Link to the Parade information: http://pearblossomparade.org/parade/

Two of our upcoming STEP Classes are:

Fruit Jerky: March 31 at 6:30PM, Ages 9-19:

Have you ever wanted to learn about making dried fruit or fruit leather? Are you interested in the basics of food preservation? Did you know you can make dried fruit with a toaster oven, conventional oven, or even air fryer? Come learn all about it from the Jackson County Master Food Preservers! Participants will practice the basics of drying fruit and learn about safety, methods, and even get to try a variety of dried goodies make by the Master Food Preservers themselves! Of course, participants will also take home their own creations!

Let's Jam!: DATE CHANGED: April 21 at 6PM-8PM, Ages 9-19:

Come learn all about the basics of canning and making jam from the Jackson County Master Food Preservers! Participants will make their own jams and learn about safety, methods, making jellies, and even get to try a variety of canned goodies made by the Master Food Preservers themselves! Of course, participants will also take home their own jams!

--------------------------------------------

Check out our new webpage for the STEP program at https://extension.oregonstate.edu/4h/jackson/step-classes!

You can register for STEP Classes at this link! Deadline to sign up is 4PM on the day before the class.

There are STEP it UP classes for all 4-H ages, so take the time to check them out! Some of them are two-parters this time, which means that you should attend both sessions. We'll make pizza, can jam, make schlep bags, preserve our own fruit, and much, much more! Check it out!

More Information here!

We also need adult volunteers! If you are interested, reach out to 541-930-8412 ASAP!

We can offer camp discounts for kids whose parent volunteers at Camp!

• Horse Declarations: At April Leaders Meeting (April 10th)
• Swine Declarations: At April Leaders Meeting (April 20th)

If you missed the enrollment deadline and still want to participate in fair, you will need to complete the following:

• Make sure that your child's enrollment is submitted in 4-H Online (see link in the paragraph below).
• Make sure that your fee is paid (call the office to find out if we have record).
• Fill out a variance form ASAP to be reviewed. There is no guarantee that it will be approved, but the longer you wait, the less likely it is.

If you are unsure if your child is properly enrolled, log in to v2.4honline.com and ensure it says "Approved" next to your child's name. If it doesn't, click "continue enrollment" or "enroll now" make sure to click through until you hit "submit" or your enrollment will not be submitted. When it asks about payment, simply click "Pay by check" regardless of how you plan to pay your enrollment fee. The enrollment fee is now $60 and can be paid by cash or check at SOREC or online at our Enrollment Fee Site.

If you have questions about enrollment, call us at 541-776-7371!

Teachers - Do you want to bring Agriculture into your 3rd-4th grade classroom? Look no further - the Jackson County 4-H program has put together six Ag related activity kits for teachers to check out for only $1. The kits correspond to the OSU Extension Oregon Grown Curriculum (see link below). Thanks to a Farm to School grant, all kits contain non-perishable items such as: books, lesson plants, handouts and activity supplies. We also added supplemental activities based on 4-H or Ag in the Classroom lesson plans such as animal poetry, tortilla frying, soil testing, tabletop greenhouses, garden in a glove, ice cream in a bag, and animal husbandry supplies. Each kit is available for pick up from the Extension Office starting April 17th. The kits can be checked out for 1 week, and must be returned by Friday. Spring is the best time to get students excited about agriculture! For more information, email 4-H Office Specialist Cristy Harms at cristy.harms@oregonstate.edu

Link to sign up!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945A9AF2EA4FAC07-oregon

Curriculum Link!

https://workspace.oregonstate.edu/o-to-school-and-nutrition-education-oregon-grown-curriculum

We have another new leader orientation planned for April 17th from 6-8:30PM! RSVP at this link!

Lake County SNAP-Ed Education Program Assistant 1

The Oregon State University Extension Service invites applications for a part-time (approximately 20 hours per week) Education Program Assistant 1 (EPA) position serving Lake County. This position is with the Extension Family and Community Health program (affiliated with OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences) and based at the OSU Extension Lake County Office in Lakeview, Oregon. To review the posting and apply, go to https://jobs.oregonstate.edu/postings/132896. Apply to posting # P04055CT. Closing date of April 3, 2023, OSU is an AA/EOE/Vets/Disabled.

Come support Hop to it GEMS 4-H rabbit and cavy club with their annual Easter Eggstravaganza club fundraiser!!! With Easter egg hunts at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm, carnival games to win prizes, a small animal petting zoo, pictures with the Easter Bunny, and more, it’ll be fun for the whole family! The event will be held at Donahue-Frohnmayer Park in Medford from 11am- 4pm. The Easter egg hunt is $5 per person, and each event is one ticket to participate (4-H members get an extra ticket free with the $20 deal!). We hope to see you there!

This publication will be made available in an accessible alternative format upon request. Please contact Steven McIntyre, Education Program Assistant at steven.mcintyre@oregonstate.edu

Oregon State University Extension Service prohibits discrimination in all its programs, services, activities, and materials on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, familial/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, genetic information, veteran's status, reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs).